Budget airline Easyjet has announced it will be providing five extra flights a week from Rome’s Fiumicino airport to London Gatwick.

According to buyingbusinesstravel.com, Easyjet has also been increasing its operations in Naples, by adding a third base which is due to open in March next year. In addition, it has extended the number of services available at Catania in Sicily.

“Over 13.5 million passengers flew with us to, from and within Italy last year and today’s news means that we will be providing more Italians with our friendly service, low fares and the best network of flights across Europe,” she said.

“With the other announcements about Italy we made in recent weeks this means that we will continue to provide passengers with the best European network of any airline operating in Italy,” reports routes-news.com.

She added that Easyjet it the second biggest airline operating at Rome’s Fiumicino airport and that the expansion is to ensure they maintain their position.

The extra flights are good news for businesses in London, as an increase in tourists and business travellers from Italy should help boost the local economy – especially for meeting venues, hotels and restaurants.